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The annual summary of your listening habits has become a phenomenon – but marketing wheeze aside, Wrapped doesn’t reflect what we truly love As a marketing exercise, it’s hard not to be hugely impressed by Spotify Wrapped. In less than a decade, the streaming giant has somehow managed to turn what’s essentially a bit of automated data-scraping into a global event. It’s a triumphant exercise in underlining the platform’s dominance in its field – this year, it arrives with the slogan Wrapped Or It Didn’t Happen, as if music consumed via Spotify is the only music that matters – and indeed in getting free advertising by encouraging users to share on social media Spotify’s personalised and heavily branded lists of most-streamed artists and listening trends. This year, the arrival of Spotify Wrapped results was heralded by a huge billboard advertising campaign, brand partnerships ranging from Amazon to FC Barcelona, a London launch gig that stars Sam Smith, Charli XCX and Chase and Status a...

People have entered the UK in record numbers since the points-based system came in and ministers want to reverse this Since the UK introduced a points-based visa system post-Brexit, ministers have talked tough on immigration while allowing employers to look abroad to plug workforce gaps and encouraging universities to bring in overseas students. Last week Conservative MPs demanded urgent action after it emerged that net migration – the number of people immigrating minus the number emigrating – was a record-breaking 745,000 in the calendar year 2022. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/HhzWbEo

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A new exhibition collates more 800 objects to give insight into the zine scene, a way to democratize art and journalism A medium that basks in the unruliness and unpredictability of the creative process, zines are gloriously chaotic and difficult to pin down. Requiring little more to produce than a copy machine, a stapler and a vision, zines played a hugely democratizing role in art during the 20th century and have managed to stay popular and relevant in spite of web-based innovations, like blogs, that might have supplanted a less compelling medium. The Brooklyn Museum’s substantial and exciting new exhibit, Copy Machine Manifestos, offers a welcome, thorough examination of zines made by artists. With over 800 objects on display, Copy Machine Manifestos is a crucial step toward documenting the zine scene, even if, in zine terms this show is a proverbial drop in the bucket. As the exhibition co-curator and art historian Drew Sawyer put it in an interview: “Even if we wanted to be very...

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Chelsea, QPR and Tottenham player who as England manager displayed one of the sharpest football brains of his generation As a player, coach and manager, Terry Venables possessed one of the sharpest football brains of his generation. His career reached its peak when he guided England to the semi-finals of the European championships on home ground in the summer of 1996, losing to Germany on penalties. But that was only after beating Scotland with an unforgettable goal from Paul Gascoigne, and trouncing a highly rated Netherlands team with the finest display seen from the national team since the World Cup victory 30 years earlier. Venables, who has died aged 80, went into those matches already knowing that he would be replaced once the tournament was over, thanks to the dim view taken by some senior members of the Football Association, his employers, of his outside activities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gx6YPVq

Everton burned with a sense of injustice over the record 10-point deduction that has revived relegation fears just when it seemed Sean Dyche’s side had left them behind. Manchester United performed with cool heads and cold intent instead, and savoured their biggest victory of the season as a result. Erik ten Hag’s team’s previous seven league wins this season had been by a single goal margin but here they ran out comfortable victors, eventually, over an Everton team reeling from the heaviest sporting sanction in Premier League history. A stupendous overhead kick from Alejandro Garnacho set United on their way to an impressive win, in which the 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo excelled on his full debut, before a second-half penalty from Marcus Rashford took the contest away from the hosts. Anthony Martial added the gloss with his first goal of the season late on. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1fspmlQ

Cheltenham regular wins first Grade One at Haydock Pic D’Orhy wins 1965 Chase after Shishkin’s refusal If a six-and-a-half-length success in the first Grade One of the campaign – his first at the highest level – is as good as it gets for Royale Pagaille this season, the delight of his trainer and rider in the winner’s enclosure here on Saturday made it plain that it will be more than enough. Venetia Williams’s nine-year-old has been beaten in the last three runnings of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and remains an outsider at around 25-1 to make it fourth time lucky. But he is the epitome of the big, old-fashioned staying chaser that has always been Williams’s stock in trade, and if the mud happens to be flying at the Festival next March, who knows? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/oLxH2VM

Organisers of London protest against anti-Jewish hatred demand that far-right leader stays away, after he claimed to support it Organisers of a march against antisemitism billed as Britain’s biggest since the second world war have demanded that the far-right leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon stay away. Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, has claimed to support the aims of the march through central London due to be held this Sunday. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lVGOrzn

Threefold increase since 2019 means focusing on immigration may be a risky move for the PM at next election Of Boris Johnson’s many broken promises, his failure to “bring back control” of post-Brexit immigration is the one that Tory MPs believe matters most to their voters. Johnson has long fled the scene – Rishi Sunak is instead getting the blame from his “new Conservative” backbenchers who predict they will be punished at the ballot box in the “red wall” of the north and Midlands. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/irAJH2q

Right wing of party says income and inheritance taxes must be reduced, but Labour says growth has ‘hit a dead end’ Hunt announces sweeping tax cuts for firms and workers Autumn statement: live coverage and reaction Jeremy Hunt is facing pressure to go further on tax cuts, while dozens of Conservative MPs have vowed to block any future tax rises by their government. After the chancellor announced a surprise 2p cut to national insurance in the autumn statement on Wednesday, he faced immediate calls from the right wing of the party to cut income tax or inheritance tax in the spring budget. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Kqatms8

Concerns rise that Moscow has been stockpiling missiles and waiting for sub-zero temperatures for maximum disruption Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates The first snow of the year fell in Kyiv on Wednesday, blanketing Ukraine’s capital in a layer of white and raising concerns about a potential Russian attack on the country’s energy infrastructure. Last October, Russia began relentless waves of attacks on critical infrastructure that lasted for months and left millions of people without heating, electricity or water for parts of the winter. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/BZqzU7R

Usually boosted by tourist spending, Stratford-upon-Avon’s residents and businesses lament cost of living crisis “I think he’s past hope now really: we need a change.” Former Conservative voter Kevin Sinclair, jumping on his bike after a pub lunch in sunny Stratford-upon-Avon, has little hope for Rishi Sunak’s latest reset – the tax-cutting plans mooted for Wednesday’s autumn statement. “I can’t believe that he’s had David Cameron back in. It doesn’t reassure me at all,” says the 65-year-old. Asked if his scepticism is widely shared in this true blue Tory seat, he says: “It is with a lot of my friends and family, yes. I think things are going terrible.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/wd0nGrm

After becoming chief secretary to the Treasury, this was Trott’s moment to crash and burn on the media round Just over a week ago Laura Trott received a call from Rishi Sunak. Would she like to join the cabinet as chief secretary to the Treasury? Come the following Tuesday, she might have wished she had thought a little harder before taking up the offer. Instead, she was left to crash and burn on the morning media round. It turns out that Laura Trott is the unthinking person’s Helen Whately. That bad. Mishal Husain began the BBC Today programme by asking for Trott’s thoughts on Patrick Vallance’s evidence to the Covid inquiry. What did she make of the discrepancy between what the former chief scientific adviser had said about the Eat Out to Kill Someone scheme and Sunak’s own account . That the then chancellor had not bothered to consult any of the scientific team before setting out to find how many old people he could let die before the inevitable next lockdown. Depraved New World ...

Giant orb similar to one opened in Nevada refused by Sadiq Khan after potential light pollution deemed unacceptable It might be good enough for Las Vegas, but the Sphere – a dazzling orb-shaped 90 metre-high music venue that doubles as a giant digital billboard – is unlikely to be coming to London after the mayor rejected a planning application. Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) had applied to build the 21,500-capacity structure in Stratford, east London, close to the Olympic Park. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5Pxy4Da

Far-right politicians want to execute militants convicted of 7 October attacks, but relatives say this risks lives of Gaza hostages Israel-Hamas war – live updates Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas have clashed with far-right Israeli politicians who want to bring in the death penalty as a possible sentence for captured Palestinian militants. The families said on Monday that even talk of doing so might endanger the lives of their relatives. The row underlines the deep divisions in Israel over how to deal with the hostage crisis. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gtEIloH

OpenAI has been at the centre of a Silicon Valley corporate drama since the recent sacking of CEO Sam Altman OpenAI staff threaten to quit en masse unless Sam Altman is reinstated Sam Altman’s OpenAI exit leads to rollercoaster for sector The firing of Sam Altman as chief executive of OpenAI on Friday took the tech world by surprise and has triggered a Silicon Valley corporate drama. Altman is not just the CEO of the company behind the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot. He is also the figurehead of a revolution in AI that has enthralled the public and investors but also alarmed industry insiders and experts . Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/5w8kpW9

Oscar winner Ariana DeBose voices an all-singing heroine in an overstuffed yet underpowered attempt to replicate the success of Frozen A decade ago, at a time when both Disney and Pixar’s animation output was not exactly unsuccessful but entirely unmemorable, Frozen became a sticky $1.2bn game-changer, a box office hit that turned into an all-consuming phenomenon. It won Oscars, produced earworms that burrowed (a little too) deep, spawned a $1.45bn sequel, led to a hit Broadway musical and showed Disney how to dust off the contemporarily critiqued princess narrative rather than throw it away completely. Opening in the same Thanksgiving slot 10 years later, with a script co-written by Frozen’s Jennifer Lee, Wish is a bullishly positioned successor, another self-aware, formula-tweaking Disney Princess narrative with as many radio-friendly power ballads as there are Christmas-timed merchandising opportunities. But Wish feels less like Disney’s new Frozen and more like an off-brand rip-o...

A hand cupped around the ear, badge slap and knee slide from the Manchester City and England duo Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp are images from a 3-1 derby defeat that will haunt the Old Trafford crowd. Manchester United were a goal up thanks to Katie Zelem’s penalty, after a handball in the area from their former captain Alex Greenwood, , and could argue that they had another incorrectly ruled out for the ball having gone out of play on the byline. Replays were inconclusive. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/0Tzhpwl

Scotland host Norway hoping to finish top of Group A All the live scores | Email John or tweet him on X here At Hampden, the bagpipe guitars of Big Country can be heard. It’s a night of celebration at Scotland Fitba HQ. For Scotland: Jacob Brown makes his first start. The Luton striker is handed his eighth cap as Clarke made four changes following Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Georgia. Jack Hendry, Stuart Armstrong and Kenny McLean also came in as Ryan Porteous, Billy Gilmour, Ryan Christie and Lyndon Dykes dropped to the bench. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/75HI1kW

Exeter 25-24 Gloucester Exeter play down delay in paying players as ‘clerical error’ On the field there are reasons to be optimistic for Exeter, back up to third in the Premiership table after a thrilling last-gasp win sealed by a long-range penalty by Henry Slade. Off the pitch, though, not all is sweetness and light with the Chiefs confirming their squad were paid late last month and annual losses of around £4m for the last tax year expected to be announced within the next 10 days. Exeter officials remain adamant that a slight delay in paying their players’ wages was a “simple clerical error” and strenuously refute the idea the club is in danger of going out of business. The Guardian has been told that a staff member processing the wages unwittingly tried to pay them via the wrong bank account, leading to the players being paid 10 hours late on the 31 st October. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/15Zq84Y

Game by game coverage of second semi-final from Turin Sinner sinks Medvedev to reach final | And you can mail Tom With the utmost respect to home favourite Jannik Sinner this is the final, right? Even if Sinner beats the winner, this is pretty much the match to decide the title of best men’s tennis player for 2023. Novak Djokovic has won three of the four grand slams, Carlos Alcaraz beat the world No 1 to claim the other. The 36-year-old Serb has seen off the young phenom in their two other meetings this year. Djokovic outmatched Alcaraz in Paris en route to the French Open title and then clawed his way to victory in the final of the Cincinnati Masters in a classic. They have both lost already at this ATP Finals, which is why this meeting is at the last four stage and not for the overall crown. Sinner’s win over Djokovic was a suprise, but Alcaraz’s form has not been as consistent by his own lofty standards since claiming the title at Wimbledon. The 20-year-old’s coach, Juan Car...

The Booker prizewinning novelist, who has died aged 87 , was intelligent, curious – and warmly supportive of younger writers AS Byatt obituary It was always a joy to receive an email from the Booker prizewinning novelist AS Byatt. It might range from Nietzsche to newts to the weather in northern France (where she had a house) to the splitting migraine she’d had since Tuesday and why some writer was completely misguided about something or other. But no, she was dreadfully sorry, but she couldn’t write anything because she was deep in a novel of her own. And PS have I read the new novel from [insert name of as yet unheard-of novelist], it is really terrifically good. Her email address was “arachne” (she was fascinated by insects and myths), she would sign off as ASD (after her second husband, Peter Duffy) and many people called her The Dame (she received a damehood in 1999). A quintessential bluestocking and unrepentant intellectual, AS Byatt was literary nobility for many years. Th...

Flyer campaign raises fears war could spread to areas IDF previously said were safe Israel-Hamas war – live updates Israel has dropped leaflets into southern Gaza telling Palestinian civilians to leave four towns on the eastern edge of Khan Younis, raising fears that its war against Hamas could spread to areas it previously said were safe. The flyers told civilians in Bani Shuhaila, Khuza’a, Abassan and al-Qarara that anyone in the vicinity of militants or their positions was “putting his life in danger”, local people told Reuters. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/0znxW8a

Labour MP said she was voting in favour of ceasefire on behalf of people of Yardley, against party whip Israel-Hamas war – latest updates In her resignation letter, as she quit Labour’s shadow cabinet over Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza, Birmingham Yardley MP, Jess Phillips, said she had voted “with my constituents, my head and my heart” on the issue. Phillips was the most high-profile Labour MP to resign in order to back an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza , in defiance of the party line. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3a264gF

Former home secretary is making it clear she will be thorn in PM’s side, especially on small boats and Rwanda UK politics live – latest updates In the coming days, Suella Braverman is planning to release a “grid of shit” to dominate the news agenda which, according to her allies, includes a physical copy of the “document” that details her secret deal with Rishi Sunak in exchange for backing him as Tory leader. She has already left No 10 in no doubt she intends to be a thorn in the prime minister’s side after her sacking as home secretary. A brutal letter to Sunak on Tuesday was followed by a call for emergency legislation to block off legal challenges to his Rwanda plan today. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZerwKEW

David Cameron plays catchup with foreign affairs, old and new colleagues … and his place setting UK politics live – latest updates The alarm went off at 7.45am. Big Dave eased himself out of bed. For the first time in months, he caught himself smiling. Today was going to be a good day. For the last seven years he had felt somewhat aimless. Drifting towards futility. Sure, he had money. What former prime minister didn’t? Though he was only a jobbing millionaire. Shame Greensill had gone bust before he could cash in his share options. But all he tended to do these days was potter out to the shepherd’s hut and browse the John Lewis website. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/fO7u3JS

Staff say they fear rising numbers of deaths at hospital on third day without power, and with shooting and bombing outside Israel-Hamas war – live updates Dozens of corpses lay on the courtyard outside Gaza’s largest hospital, covering the ground next to a blue refrigerated truck that had long ceased to be able to keep the bodies cool. Most of the bodies were shrouded in colourful blankets originally meant for the living, after the hospital ran out of white bodybags. A severely burnt arm protruded from one of the blankets. Elsewhere, according to video footage seen by the Guardian, the charred body of a child was visible among the soft folds of the material. “We are under siege,” said Munir al-Boursh, a doctor who is also a Palestinian health ministry undersecretary, speaking from inside Dar al-Shifa hospital. The facility had intended to dig a mass grave until Israeli tanks and snipers encircled the the complex on Friday, making movement around it impossible. Continue reading......

Even as Storm Debi battered Manchester, thousands turned out to line the route as the cortege wound past Old Trafford “He was internationally famous …” the Reverend Grace Thomas said, “but he was most at home with his family.” The head of the Manchester United Foundation John Shiels and the former United chief executive David Gill, who delivered eulogies, both made reference to his intense privacy. And that perhaps was the most striking aspect of the memorial service for Sir Bobby Charlton at Manchester Cathedral on Monday: he would have hated it, but he would have gone through with it because he recognised he had a responsibility to do so. This was the public event ; the family service will be held on Tuesday. The Football Association was represented by Prince William, Manchester United by a host of players, former players and managers and the wider football world by the likes of the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, the England manager, Gareth Southgate, and the Manchester City c...

Daly and Lewington score tries in 50-12 thumping Fin Smith inspires Northampton to victory over Exeter Mark McCall was delighted at the way Saracens were able to adapt in adversity after a thumping 50-12 win against Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park. The reigning Premiership champions travelled to the north east without a number of their England stars, who were rested after coming straight back in last week. They then lost lineout caller and second row Callum Hunter-Hill in the warm-up, with back-rower Ollie Stonham coming into the starting line-up out of position at the last minute. Despite that, Sarries were able to overcome a slow start to wrap up the bonus point by half-time and make it three wins on the spin, to the delight of director of rugby McCall. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/FMR7hCI

‘It hasn’t been a great tournament but I’m pretty confident’ Head coach Mott backs Jos Buttler to continue as captain Matthew Mott insists he and Jos Buttler are the men to take England’s white-ball teams into the future, albeit with the head coach declining to share the lessons he learned after what has been a lousy World Cup defence. By finishing seventh with a third win of the campaign – beating fifth-placed Pakistan by 93 runs – England at least secured their place in the 2025 Champions Trophy. But six defeats are their most at a 50-over World Cup, despite arriving in India among the favourites. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/o6tb021

The latest Opinium poll shows Keir Starmer’s personal rating has slumped but the Tories are also suffering from internal divisions Israel-Hamas war – live updates Labour is perceived by voters as far more divided in the wake of party splits over the conflict in Israel and Gaza, amid concerns that there may be further frontbench resignations on the issue this week. Keir Starmer has also taken a hit, with the latest Opinium poll for the Observer showing a slump in the proportion of voters who regard him as a strong leader compared with a month ago. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/nCxYWBX

North Carolina city marks 125th anniversary of the white-supremacist attack with a week of memorial events The Equal Justice Initiative is a non-profit organization committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. Guardian US has partnered with EJI to reprint this special feature , originally titled The Wilmington Massacre of 1898 . In the late 1890s, Wilmington, North Carolina, a port city between the Atlantic’s barrier islands and the banks of the Cape Fear River, became an island of hope for a new America. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/a0AP6cE

Jesmond Park Academy’s buildings – which were damaged during Storm Babet – are maintained by PFI contract Legal wrangling over repairs to one of England’s largest schools has led to more than 2,000 pupils being shut out of their classrooms for more than three weeks. Leaders of the Gosforth Group academy trust in Newcastle closed Jesmond Park Academy over fears that pupils and staff were in danger from metal panels falling off the school’s building after Storm Babet hit on 18 October. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/bzyg8Ap

Associated Newspapers had avoided being drawn into the scandal around practices faced by rivals. It will not relish the scrutiny in court It is the moment that senior executives at the Mail have been dreading: on Friday Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that the case brought against their publisher Associated Newspapers by Prince Harry, Elton John, Doreen Lawrence and others can continue . The Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, which had so assiduously avoided being drawn into the scandal around newspaper practices faced by its rivals, will now be scrutinised in the high court and likely face weeks of difficult headlines, regardless of the outcome of the trial. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Yrv6NEb

Suella Braverman is trying to import the worst politics of the US evangelical right. This inflammatory rhetoric has no place in Britain It reads, with hindsight, uncannily like a prophecy. Long before Suella Braverman became home secretary, when Mark Rowley was enjoying a brief career sabbatical ahead of being appointed chief commissioner of the Metropolitan police, he published an unexpected literary debut. A strictly fictional thriller, co-authored by the journalist David Derbyshire, The Sleep of Reason is set in a world where shrill competing political ideologies make the job of policing infinitely harder and real people consequently risk getting hurt. “Between you and me, I despair with this generation of politicians,” says a senior police officer at one point. “We’ve got the rise of extreme-right terrorism, the continued threat from Islamists and we’re in the middle, supposedly protecting the public. And meanwhile the political class on every side seems more interested in chuck...

New research on insects – without which the planet would not survive – shows a higher proportion are at risk of disappearing Two million species are at risk of extinction, a figure that is double previous UN estimates, new analysis has found. While scientists have long documented the decline of species of plants and vertebrates, there has always been significant uncertainty over insects, with the UN making a “tentative estimate” of 10% threatened with extinction in 2019. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/qxWhdgi

A recent poll prophesied doom and gloom for Democrats. Then Americans voted for Democrats and progressive policies The New York Times released a poll on Monday showing Donald Trump beating Joe Biden in several key states, and progressives across the country started to panic. The next day, actual voters in actual states cast actual ballots, and suddenly Democratic prospects don’t look nearly as bleak. In state after state, Democrats and progressives swept to victory, affirming the findings from decades of demographic and electoral data showing that the majority of Americans prefer the more multiracial and inclusive vision of Democrats to the angry and punitive policies of the Republicans. At the heart of the Times poll was the suggestion that African Americans and Latinos were gravitating in large and significant numbers to support Trump. According to the poll, 71% of Black voters and just 50% of Latinos backed Biden. If accurate, those numbers would represent a historic collapse of ...

We asked experts whether the wellness trend is worth trying – or if it leaves a sour taste in their mouths Tell us: what are your super-specific tips for getting to sleep? Jennifer Aniston drinks it hot , Gisele Bündchen drinks it lukewarm . Naomi Campbell drinks it with probiotics , and Joe Rogan occasionally drinks it with Himalayan salt and cayenne pepper. Beyonce invested in a line of it in 2022, thus becoming, according to a statement from the company’s CEO, “a part of the Lemon Perfect family”. For years, lemon water (water with juice from a lemon squeezed into it) has been a staple of the celebrity morning routine, an appealingly approachable symbol of aspirational wellness. Its supposed benefits are myriad, according to dubiously sourced online articles and AI-narrated TikToks: it is detoxifying! It improves your skin! It balances your body’s pH and promotes weight loss! The touted advantages of this simple elixir are so comprehensive that it boggles the mind to imagine ...

The real obstacle has been Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in power for nearly half the time since the idea was floated The two-state solution could do with a rebrand. The optimism that greeted the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians three decades ago has long since given way to eye rolling and grimaces among politicians and diplomats at any mention of the “peace process”. For years, they have been obliged to pay lip service to the vision while, in practice, many were resigned to the two-state solution as a byword for failure and a cover for inaction. Mostly they tried to avoid talking about it at all. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/uUGA3CK

World No 1 prevails 6-4, 6-3 to earn his 40th Masters ATP title Unseeded Dimitrov fails in bid to win his first title in six years Novak Djokovic cruised to a record-extending seventh Paris Masters title, and became the first player to claim 40 Masters ATP 1000 titles, after beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in the final on Sunday. The world No 1’s sixth trophy this season helped him to extend his lead over the second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the race to the year-end top spot. Djokovic will now head to the ATP Finals in Turin, primed to seal the deal after emerging triumphant from a series of close matches this week. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/DyCZ9zV

World champion dominates ahead of Lando Norris Sergio Pérez is third but Hamilton finishes seventh Max Verstappen won the sprint race for the São Paulo Grand Prix with a superb drive for Red Bull at Interlagos. The world champion made the difference in the opening seconds of the race to take the lead into turn one. Once out front he was in control confidently beating the McLaren of Lando Norris into second and his teammate Sergio Pérez into third at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were in fourth and seventh for Mercedes, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fifth. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/h9XSe3K

In the theatre world, ‘showmances’ aren’t uncommon. But from the beginning Lucy Maunder knew this one was different Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email During my first week of rehearsals for Grease the Musical in 2013 we had a performance at the Sydney Opera House. On one of our breaks I was lazing in the green room with a bag of chips I’d bought from the vending machine when a cast member I had barely met sauntered up and grabbed them right out of my hand. I thought: “That’s bold.” It was only the beginning of the cheekiness I would come to expect of Jaryd. The following week, I was texting with a friend who was keen for all the gossip on who I was working with, specifically if anyone was “gorgeous”. I found myself mentioning this chip thief and how he’d literally rolled into rehearsals on a skateboard, wearing a flamingo print tank top, a diamond stud in his nose. Cute as he was, I told my friend I was pretty sure he wasn’t interested in women. Continue reading... fr...

Arthur Engoron forbids Trump’s lawyers from discussing ‘confidential communications’ between him and his staff The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s $250m fraud trial moved to gag Trump’s lawyers from talking about “confidential communications” between him and his staff on Friday. Judge Arthur Engoron has already fined Trump $15,000 for attacking his clerk on social media and threatened to jail the former president if the attacks continue. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/XCajD9z

A compendium of answers about the roots of the conflict, what is happening now and some of the parties involved Occupied territories, two-state solution, apartheid, peace process, proscribed terrorist organisations, the Nakba, proxy militias, disproportionate force. The decades-long crisis in Israel and Palestine has gripped the world but it has a tangled history that can feel overwhelming – and terminology that many find confusing. Below are Guardian explainer articles that aim to answer the deeper questions and give historical context, as well as provide some simple definitions. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/bq5UoPm

The absence of national planning for the pandemic and Boris Johnson’s shameful leadership are in the spotlight Lady Hallett has been holding hearings of the UK Covid-19 inquiry for much of the past two months. It is only this week, however, that the hearings have forced their way to the top of the news. There is no mystery about the reason. The evidence to the inquiry by senior civil servants, government advisers and health chiefs this week has been extraordinary and shocking. For most of us, the shock has been the graphic reminders from those at the heart of government of how poorly the UK state was prepared for the Covid pandemic, of how indecisively the government responded, and of the bitter rivalries between some of those taking life-and-death decisions at the top. Among the multiple serious issues that have been aired in the past four days, two in particular stand out: the absence of any national planning for the pandemic and the inadequacy of Boris Johnson’s leadership. Cont...

The PM’s fear of stifling innovation makes him too hesitant to deal with problems that Washington and Brussels are already addressing The challenge of regulating artificial intelligence is sometimes compared to the management of nuclear energy: there are valuable civil applications alongside terrifying military ones, and a credible risk of existential calamity if it all goes wrong. But nuclear weapons are expensive and hard to acquire. By contrast, AI can distribute awesome power at relatively low cost. This adds unprecedented complexity to the task facing attenders at an AI safety summit that Rishi Sunak is hosting this week at Bletchley Park. The prime minister wants to position the UK as a global leader in the field. It is a creditable diplomatic endeavour, partly vindicated by the “ Bletchley declaration ” in which 28 countries agree to a sustained global dialogue on managing emerging AI risks. Significantly, both the US and China have signed. Continue reading... from The Gua...